Carton and carton blank



Dec. 15, 1964 Filed Feb. 14, 1962 R. M. MITCHELL 5 Sheets-Sheet l 46 25 34 32 35 29 5| 39 Q 44 45 2 /48 W849\ 2 7 s3 w U 3 [46 -'4 g/ m 1 H J F/G 'INVENTOR.

ROBERT M. MITCHELL BMW a? mu,

ATTORNEYS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ROBERT M MITCHELL ATTORNE Y5 Dec. 15, 1964 R. M. MITCHELL CARTON AND CARTON BLANK Filed Feb. 14. 1962 Dec. 15, 1964 R. M. MITCHELL 3,161,340

CARTON AND CARTON BLANK Filed Feb. 14, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG? INVENTOR.

ROBERT M. MITCHELL ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofifice Edfilfidh Patented Dec. 15, 1964 3,1613% CARTON AND CARTON BLANK Robert M. Mitchell, South Norwallt, Conn, assignor to General Foods Corporation, White Plains, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 14, 1962, Ser. No. 173,192 12 Claims. (Cl. 229-417) This invention relates to a novel and useful carton, and more particularly to a carton formed from a unitary blank of paperboard or like material, which blank can be erected by manual or mechanical means to form the novel carton.

A wide variety of cartons erected from unitary paperboard blanks are presently in use and are particularly adapted to contain dry breakfast cereals, soaps and detergents, and other articles which must be packaged economically, but in such a manner that the contents will not be damaged in transit to the ultimate consumer and will not inadvertently be discharged from the carton. Paperboard cartons have proved particularly suitable for containing such products. Further, when the product within the carton is one which is fluent in character, that is, a solid material in the form of granules, flakes, or like particles which will flow under tilting or inversion of the carton so that they may be discharged through an orifice in the carton, it has become fairly common to provide paperboard cartons with pouring orifices and pouring spouts. These spouts enable the contents of the carton to be poured therefrom when the spout is in open position. A convenient type of spout is one which, after a desired quantity of fluent material has been poured from the carton, can then be moved to a closed position in which the flow of the carton contents is halted.

One difiiculty which has arisen in paperboard containers having pour spouts which are formed in the erected carton by virtue of the particular structure of the carton blank from which that carton is formed, is that such pour spouts tend to form an unreliable closure. Since the pour spout is formed from a material which is subject to wear upon multiple openings and closings thereof, namely, paperboard and laminated paperboard materials, these pour spouts will tend to become weaker and to close more inelficiendy after a relatively short period of use. Metal pour spouts, of course, are not able to be formed from a sheet of paperboard and laminated paperboard, and so are much more expensive to manufacture. A metal pour spout, for example, is only integral with a carton blank of paperboard after that pour spout has been attached by some means to the paperboard blank. it has, therefore, long been a problem in the industry to find a pour s out which is formed from the same material as the carton, itself, yet will firmly be retained in closed position after it has been used for some time to form a discharge aperture for the contents of the carton.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a carton having a pour spout formed integral therewith and of the same material as the rest of the carton blank, which pour Spout will be retained in closed position by a novel structure formed within the carton, which structure permits a particular coaction between the pour spout and other parts of the carton.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a carton embodying a pour spout. therein and which, when in closed position after discharge of a portion of the contents thereof, will have a distinctive top flap assembly which permits one or two pour spouts to be easily moved between open and closed positions.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a unitary carton blank which, when erected, will form a carton of such structure as to permit the attainment of the objects set forth hereinbefore.

The present invention is founded on a carton in which two opposed, closing flaps thereof are disposable in a plane inwardly of the front and back wall edges of the carton, said carton carrying means for locking the closing flaps together in that inwardly disposed position. Moreover, when the closing flaps are in inwardly disposed position, they form an orifice which enables a pour spout to be directed therewithin in closed position and to be withdrawn therefrom in open position.

In a preferred embodiment, a carton according to my invention includes front, back and end walls joined together along parallel edges to form a tubular structure. If this tube is rectilinear in form, the structure will be one which is in conventional use. At one end of the tubular structure opposed closing iiaps are provided. One pair of such flaps are hingeably joined to the opposed front and back walls of the carton, and, as is conventional in carton structures, another pair of closing flaps is hingeably joined to edges of opposed end walls of the carton. Only one end wall-joined closing flap is necessary to the present invention, however. Both pairs of flaps can be moved about the edges to which they are joined into a position in which all the flaps lie in substantially the same plane; in this position all the closing flaps are usually glue-sealed together to provide a carton which is closed prior to use by the consumer. In the present invention one pair of closing flaps, which has been designated as the front and back wall-joined closing flaps, are individually movable to a position which they are substantially coextensive and to a further position in which each of these flaps is disposed inwardly of the plane of the front and back wall edges to which the flaps are joined by fold lines. The ability of flaps of conventional cartons to be so positioned is well known; however, in the carton to which the present invention is directed, means is provided for locking the opposed front and back wal -joined flaps together in that further position in which they are inwardly disposed. In addition, at least one of the other pair of flaps, which flaps are joined to the end walls of the carton, is so formed that it is possible that it can serve as a pour spout to direct material within the carton there from.

According to one feature of the invention, the means for locking the front and back wall-joined panels together in their inwardly directed position, is formed from parts of the two flaps themselves. For example, one of the flaps may terminate in a tongue while the other of the flaps has a slot formed therein. The slot may be so formed that when the opposed front and back wall-joined flaps are in a predetermined, inwardly directed position, the tongue will fit within the slot in such a manner that it will not be inadvertently withdrawn or dislodged therefrom.

According to another feature of the present invention, the one or both end wall-joined closing flaps which are to serve as pour spouts are formed so that they will be particularly adapted for such service. In a preferred form, an end wall-joined flap which is to serve as a pour spout has at least one told line therein which extends substantially longitudinally of the fiap, the length of the flap being considered that dimension from the fold line by which the flap is joined to the end wall of the carton to the leading edge of the flap. Preferably, there are two fold lines which extend substantially longitudinally of the flap but which converge toward the outer edge of the flap. The flap, which acts as a pour spout, may then be folded over on itself about these fold lines to provide a chute the narrow terminus of which acts as a discharge opening for the contents of the carton.

A further feature of the present carton is found in the fact that the front and back wall-joined flaps, which are adapted to be locked together in an inwardly depressed position, are cut away at end portions thereof to provide an orifice into which the end wall-joined flap or closing spout may be inserted after use. In one form the orifice formed in the front and back wall-joined flaps at the pour spout end of the carton is approximately'the size and shape of the pour spout when folded along its pair of converging fold lines. When the carton has such structure, it will be apparent that the front andback wall-joined flaps can be moved to their inwardly depressed position and locked therein and the pour spout then inserted in the orifice formed in the front and back wall-joined flaps by folding the pour spout along its converging fold lines. Once having been inserted in the orifice and; partly beneath the, locked, front and b ack wall-joined flaps, the pour spout will be retained therein because wing portions of the pour spout outside the fold lines will spring back resiliently against, and extend beneath the depressed, locked, front and back wall-joined flaps, and will thereby form an effective closure.

Since the pour spout may extend well beneath the front and back wall-joined closing flaps when the latter are in depressed position, it has been found desirable to form. means for grasping the pour spout to facilitate withdrawal thereof, such withdrawal being effected by bending the pour spout along its fold lines until it assumes the approxi-.

mate shape of the orifice provided by the front and back Wall-joinedv flaps. This means is easily accomplished by cutting away a portion of the pour spout at its leading edge to form a finger recei ving pocket. When a finger of the useris inserted in this pocket and against the underside of the pour spout,"the pour spout can be moved outwardly against the pressure of the front and back walljo ned flaps. to free the pour spout from those flaps.

A carton blankfrorn which a carton. as disclosed and.

claimed herein may be erected is'formed; from paper,

paper-board, aluminum foil and other material from.

which cartons are presentlyv assembled, and laminated products formed therefrom. The blank is unitary and has been shaped by stamping or otherwise die cutting and, scoring a continuous sheet of the. carton-forming material.

The blank has front and back wall panelswhich are.

tion thereof, and at least one told; line is formed in an end flap so thatit can be folded: back on itself to form a pour spout. Ina preferred embodiment, the end'flap isforrned' with outwardly; converging fold lines and with; a fingerreceiving portion formed from the, leading edge of the flap. The front; and. back flaps are advantageously formed. with cut away portions at their ends adjacent to the end flap-v so that when the canton is, erected, the end flap or pour spout can be inserted through. the orifice formed by the cut-away portions in, the ends of the front and back flaps. These and other objects, features, and advantages of the carton and carton. blank which form the present invention will .be better understood by reference to a preferred embodiment of the cartonand carton blank as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of; a carton blank according to. my invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carton erected from the blank of FIG. 1' and showing one end of the carton in conventional closing flaps;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a top portion of the carton of FIG. 2 along the lines and in the direction of the arrows 4--4;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a top portion of the carton of FIG. 2 along the lines and in the direction of the arrows 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a top portion of the carton of FIG. 2 along the lines and in thedirection of the arrows6-6, with the front and back wall-joined flaps of the carton depressed andinterlocked; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to that illustrated in FIG. 6 and showing the pour spout in partially and, fully extended positions.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to. FIG. 2 thereof, i t will be seen that the illustrated, pre ferred embodiment of the carton of the present invention is in. the general form of a rectilinear hexahedron such as is commonplace for containing break-fast cereals, detergents, and like fluent materials. As erected, the novel; carton 10 is formed with parallel, opposed front wall 11 and back wall 12, which walls are joined to and separated by end walls 13 and 14, A bottom wall 15 is formed by At h uppe end f e carton 10 in FIG. 2 there will be seen two closing flaps which are joined to the upper. edges 16 and 17, respectively, of front wall 11 and back wall '12. These walljoined closing flaps are identified by reference numerals. 1'8. and 19. Two other opposed closing flaps are also provided at the upper end of the carton '10, the outlines of these closing flaps being indicated, at least in part, by broken lines. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 2 an end walljoined closing flap 20 is joined to the upper edge 21 of end wall 14 so that it pivots about that end. End walljoined closing flap 20 is rectangular and conventional in shape. At the other side of the carton 10 closing flap 22 is joined to the upper edge 23 of end wall 13. It is this end wall-joined closing flap 22 which will hereafter also be referred to as the pour spout.

The relative locations of various parts of the carton 10 when that carton is in. initially sealed position prior to theremoval of any of the contents thereof is best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and..3. In those figures itwill be seen. that back wall-joined closing flap 19. overliespart of front wall-joined flap 18, and that at the portions of overlap, these flaps are glued, t gether. 18 and 19 overlies parts of the end Wall-joined closing flap 20, and at those portions of overlap the upper surface of end walljoined flap 20 is glued to. under surface portions of flaps 18 and 19.' In a similar manner end; wall-joined flap 22 initially underlies and is fixed by means of adhesive or otherwise, to under surface portions of front and back wall-joined flaps 18 and 19.

When the carton 10' of the present invention is in the initially sealed position. as illustrated in FIG. 2, it will bev seen that a tongue 25 projects from the forward edge 26 of back wall-joined flap 19, which is the uppermost closingflap on' that end of the carton. As will heap.- par'ent from FIG. 3, when it is desired to first open the carton 10, tongue 25 may be grasped and pullcd'to the position illustrated in FIG. 3 by brokenlines 26.

The'manner in which. front and back wall -joined flaps 18 and 19 are interlocked when thosefiaps are depressed inwardly of the plane of carton edges 16, 17, 21, and'23, is illustrated in FIGS. 4 andv 5 In those figuresit will be seen that flaps 18 and 19 are positioneddownwardly by manual pressure after the glue seals, which hold the flaps 18 19, 20,'and 22 ofxcarton 10 in; closed position,

have been broken. With the-glue. seals brokemback walljoined flap 19 isjforced downwardly so that the tongue 25 is inserted through and interlocks with slot 28 formed in front wall-joined flap .18. When the tongue 25 isinserted into slot 28,. a portion of the back wall-joined flap 18 partially bounded by the slot 28. is pressed somewhat out of the plane of the remainder of fiap 18 The pare ticular shape of the slot 28 is best illustrated, in the view of the carton blank of FIG. 1. That portion of flap 18 which is partially bounded by slot 28 is identified in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5 by reference numeral 2?.

While the vertical sectional view of FIG. 4- is taken in the direction of the conventional end flap 29, the vertical sectional view of FIG. 5 is taken in the direction of the end wall-joined flap 22, which forms the pour spout of the carton 11). In FIG. 5 it will be seen that pour spout 22 is formed with a pair of fold lines 31) and 31 which extend toward the reading edge of pour spout 22 from the fold line 23, Fold lines 311 and 31 extend generally longitudinally of the spout 22, but converge outwardly and diverge as those fold lines approach fold line 23 at the top of end wall 13 of the carton. At the leading edge of pour spout 22 a grooved margin 32 is formed to provide a finger-r ceiving portion between margin 32 and what would be the normal continuation of the leading edge of the pour spout 22. It should also be noted that the entire periphery of the pour spout 22, other than its line of juncture 23 with side wall 13, is spaced at least slightly from front and back walls 11 and 12 of carton it In this manner pour spout 22 may be pivoted on the edge and fold line 23 and as it is pivoted will not engage front and back walls 11 and 12.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the manner in which pour spout 22 is withdrawn from a position in which it underlies front and back wall-joined closing flaps 18 and 19. A finger inserted in the finger-receiving portion formed by margin 32 is shown in PEG. 6, pour spout 22 nevertheless remaining depressed beneath inwardly directed flaps 18 and 1?. As indicated by line 22a in FIG. 7, the contact of the finger with margin 32 has caused pour spout 22 to be raised partially past the inwardly directed flaps 18 and 19, and the pour spout, as it is so raised,

pivots about fold line 23 at the top edge of end wall 13. As pour spout 22 pivots, portions of the pour spout, itself, are moved relative to each other. In particular, side portions of the pour spout pivot downwardly about fold lines 311 and 31 as the central portion of the pour spout moves upwardly. In FIG. 7 only fold line 31 is viewable. Indicated by broken line 22b in FIG. 7 is the pour spout 22 in fully extended position. it will be seen that the side portions of the pour spout 22, identified by reference numerals 34 and 35, the latter not being seen in FIG. 7, have pivoted along their respective fold lines 31 and 3%) so that they form a chute which terminates at finger-receiving margin 32 through which contents of the carton 1% may be discharged.

The carton blank of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1, those panels which, when erecteu, form parts of the carton 10 being identified by the same numerals as the parts which they form. The carton blank is formed from panels 11 and 12 which, when erected, form the front wall 11 and back wall 12 of the carton 1t Walhforming panels 11 and 12 are separated by end wall-forming panel 13 along fold lines dd and 1 1. Front wall-forming panel 11 is also joined to end wall-forming panel 14 along fold line 4-2, and back wall panel 12 is attached to a glue flap 43 by means of fold line 4-4. At its upper edge 21, end wall-forining panel 14 is joined to end fiap 20, the edge being scored so that end fiap 21) can pivot freely with respect to end wall 14. In a like manner flap 1% is pivotally joined to wall 11 along fold line 16, spout fiap 22 is pivotally joined to wall 13 along fold line 23, and flap 19 is pivotally joined to wall 12 along fold line 17. As part of the structure of the carton blank 39, tongue 25 of flap 19 lies in the same plane as the remainder of the flap. Likewise, all parts of the pour spout 22 including spout side portions 34 and 35, lie in the same plane, and all parts of the front walljoined closing flap 18 including portion 313 which is bounded in part by slot 23, are likewise all in the same plane. Those flaps joined to the lower edges of walls 11, 12, 13, and 14 are conventional, and their function will be apparent to one skilled in the art without further discussion. As illustrated in HS. 1, carton blank 39 is unitary and all parts of the blank lie in the same plane ready to be erected to form the carton 10.

The outlines of front wall-joined flap 19 and back wall-joined flap 18 are best seen in FIG. 1, although they are also visible in FIGS. 2, 6, and 7. Specifically, front and back wall-joined flaps 18 and 19 are cut away at their ends so that, e.g., the side edges 44 and 45 of back wall-joined fiap 19 are biased and diverge in the direction of fold line 17, the flap 19 being trapezoidal in form. Such biasing of side edges 44 and 55 results in the formation of pockets 46 and 47 at each side of the flap 19 as seen in FIG. 1. Likewise, front wall-joined flap 13 has diverging side edges 48 and 49 which cause pockets 5% and 51 to be formed at each side of flap 18.

When the carton blank 39 is erected as illustrated in FIG. 2, side edges 44 and 49 intersect, as do side edges 45 and 33. The overlap of pockets 47 and 50 results in the formation of an orifice 52 when the flaps 1S and 18 are in depressed position (FIGS. 6 and 7). It is through this orifice 52 that spout flap 22 is With drawn and reinserte If end wall-joined flap 20 is also to be utilized as a pour spout, an orifice will also be formed at that end of the carton 119 by the pockets 46 and 51.

In use, carton blank 39 is first erected to form a carton as illustrated in FIG. 2, the front and back walljoined flaps 13 and 19 and end closing flaps 20 and 22 being glued together as described hereinbefore. When the consumer first desires to gain access to the contents of the carton, the glue seal holding down side walljoined fiap 18 is broken by grasping tongue 25 between the fingers and lifting flap 18 to the position indicated by broken line 25 in FIG. 3. The pour spout 22 is then extended outwardly, back \Vc1-j0lned flap 18 having been unsealed from the two end wall-joined flaps 20 and 22. After a portion of the contents of carton 10 has been removed from within the carton, the flaps 13 and 19 are moved to a position in which they are substantially coextensive, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and then to the further position illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 in which those flaps are inwardly depressed and in which the tongue 25 fits within slot 28 and so interlocks flaps 18 and 19. Pour spout 22 is then pivoted on fold line 23 so that it is retained in the orifice 52 formed by the pockets 4 ,7 and 5d of the flaps 18 and 19. To fit within orifice 52 side portions 34- and 35 of pour spout 22 must be pivoted along fold lines 3%) and 31 so that the pour spout will enter the orifice. The carton is now closed awaiting further use.

When it is then desired to remove additonal portions of the contents of the carton 1t) therefrom, a finger is inserted in the receiving portion formed by the margin 32 of poor spout 22, and then the pour spout is pivoted about fold line 23 in an upward and outward direction. As it pivots, pour spout 22 reaches a position illustrated in FIG. 7 by line 22a in which side portions 34 and 3S pivot downwardly about fold lines 31) and 31 to permit the spout to be withdrawn from the orifice 52. Upon further pivoting, the pour spout reaches the position in dicated in FIG. 7 by line 22b in which the spout is ready to serve as a chute for the contents of the carton. In such position side portions 34 and 35 are pivoted toward each other and in opposite directions from those in which they were pivoted in emerging from orifice 52.

The carton 11? is then tilted so that a further portion of the contents are discharged from orifice 52, having been guided to the orifice by channels formed at each side of the carton top by the depressed flaps 18 and 19. Pour spout 22 is then reinserted within the orifice 52 by pivoting side portions 34 and 35 and pushing downwardly on the pour spout 22 to force it into the orifice 52, after which the resilience of side portions 34 and 3'5 will cause the spout 22 to remain in its closed position. This procedure of withdrawing and reinserting 7 the pour spout is repeated on each use untilthe contents of the carton 10. have been completely used.

It will be apparent that alterations and modifications may be made. by one skilled in this art in the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accom-. panying drawings and described hereinbefore without departing from the scope of the, invention. All such alterations and modifications. are, therefore, deemed to be included within the purview of my invention, which is to, be limited only by the scope of the following, appended claims.

What is. claimed is:

7 8 Wall edges at said one end of said structure, means for lockingsaid front and back wall-joined flaps together in said further position, and means on said end wall-joined flap for'forming a pour spout therefrom, said means including a pair of fold lines extending substantially longitudinally of said end wall-joined flap and converging toward the leading edge of said end wall-joined flap.

1. A carton, comprising front, back and end walls joined together along parallel edges to form a tubular structure, opposed closing flaps hingeably joined to, edges of said front and back walls at one end of said structure, a. closing flap hingeably joined to an edge of said end wall at the same end; of said structure, said front and back wall-joined closing flaps being movable to a position in which they are substantially, coextensive and one of said flaps overlies the other, and to a further position in which said front and back wall-joined flaps contact each other and are disposed inwardly of the plane,

of said front and back wall edges at said one end of said structure, means for locking said front and back wall-joined flaps/together in said further position, and means on said end wall-joined flap for forming a pour spout therefrom.

2. A carton, comprising front, back and end walls joined together along parallel edges to form a tubular structure, opposed closing flaps hingedly joined to edges of said front and back walls at one end of said structure,

a closing flap. hingeably joined to an edge of said end" 7 wall at the same end of said structure, said front and back wall-joined closing flaps being movable toa position in which they are substantially coextensive and one of said flaps, overlies the other, and to a further position in which each of said front and back wall-joined flaps is disposed inwardly of the plane of said front and back wall edges at said one end of said structure, means for'locking said front and back wall-joined flaps together in said further position, said means including a tongue protruding outwardly from a free edge of one of said front and back wall-joined flaps and a slot formed in thelother of said front and back wall-joined flaps and means on said end wall-joined flap for forming a pour spout therefrom.

3. A carton, comprising front, back and end walls joined together along parallel edges to form a tubular structure, opposed closing flaps hingeably joined to edges of said front and back walls at one end of said structure, a closing flap hingeably joined to an edge of said end wall at the same end of'said structure, said front and back wall-joined closing flaps being movable to. a position in which they are substantially coextensive and one of said flaps overlies the other, and to a further position in which each of said front and back wall-joined flaps is disposed inwardly of the plane, of said front and back wall edges at said one end of said structure, means for locking said front and back wall-joined flaps together in said further position, and means on said end wall-joinedfiap for forming a pour spout therefrom, said means'including at least one fold line extending substantially longitudinally of saidend wall-joined flap. V

4. A carton, comprising front, back and end walls joined together along parallel edges to form a tubular structure, opposed closing flaps hingeably joined to edges;

of said front and back Walls at one end of, said structure,

5. A carton, comprising front, back and end walls joined together along parallel edges to form a tubular structure, opposed closing flaps hingeably joined to edges of said front and back walls at one end of said struc ture, a spout forming a closing flap hingeably joined to an edge of said end wall at the same end of said structure and adapted to underlie the front and back wall-joined closing flaps, said front and back Wall-joined'closing flaps being movable to a position in which they are substantially coextensive and one of said flaps overlies the other, and to a further position in whichsaid front and back wall-joinedlflaps contact each other and are disposed inwardly of the plane of said front and back walledges at said one end of said structure, means for locking said front and back wall-joined flaps together in said further position, and means on said end wall-joined flap for facilitating the grasping thereof when said front and back walljoined flaps are locked in said further position to pivot same outwardly from underneath the locked flaps into .joined together along parallel edges to form a tubular structure, opposed closing flaps hingeably joined to edges of said front and back walls at one end of said structure, opposed closing flaps hingeably joined to edgesof said end walls at thesame end of said structure and adapted to underlie the front and back wall-joined closing flaps, said front and back wall-joined closing flaps being movable. to a position in which they are substantially coextensive and one of said flaps overlies the other, and to. a further position in which said front and back walljoined fl'apscontact each other and are disposed inwardly of the plane of said front and back wall edges at said one end of said structure, means for locking said front and back Wall-joined flaps together in said further position, and means on at least one of said end wall-joined flaps for facilitating. the grasping thereof when said side walljoined flaps are locked in said further position to pivot same outwardly from underneath the locked flaps into position for forming a pouring spout, said last-named means including a leading edge, of said one end walljoined flap which is cut away to form a finger-receiving pocket.

7. A carton, comprisingfront, back and ends walls joined together along parallel edges to. form a tubular structure, opposedclosingtflaps hingeably joinedto edges of said front and back walls at one end of said structure, opposed-closing flaps hingeably joined to edges of said end walls at the same end of said structure, said front and back wall-joined closing flaps being movable to a position in which they are substantially coextensive and one of said flaps overlies the other, and to a' further back wall edges at said one end of said structure, means for locking said front and back wall-joined flaps together in said further position, means on at least one of said end wall-joined flaps for facilitating the grasping thereof when said front and back Wall-joined flaps are in said further position, said last-named means including a leading edge, of said one end wall-joined flap which is cut away to form a finger-receiving pocket, and means on said one end wall-joined flap for forming a pour spout therefrom, said pour spoutforming means including at leastone-fold line 7 extending substantially longitudinally of said end walljoined flap from one corner of said end wall-joined flap to said pocket.

I 8. A, carton, comprising front, back and end walls joined together along parallel edges to form a tubular structure, opposed closing flaps hingcably joined to edges of said front and back walls of one end of said structure, a closing flap joined by a fold line to an edge of one end wall at the same end of said structure, said front and back wall-joined closing flaps being movable to a position in which they are substantially coextensive and one of said flaps overlies the other, and to a further position in which said front and back wall-joined flaps contact each other and are disposed inwardly of the plane of said front and back wall edges at said one end of said structure, said front and back Wall-joined flaps being cut away at said one end of said structure to form a pouring orifice between said one end of Wall and said flaps when they are in said further position, and means for locking said front and back wall-joined flaps in said further position, said end wall-joined flap being pivotable about said fold line to and from a position within said orifice.

9. A carton, comprising front, back and end walls joined together along parallel edges to form a tubular structure, opposed closing flaps hingeably joined to edges of said front and back walls at one end of said structure, a closing flap joined by a fold line to an edge of said end wall at the same end of said structure, said front and back wall-joined closing flaps being movable to a position in which they are substantially coextensive and one of said flaps overlies the other end to a further position in which each of said front and back wall-joined flaps is disposed inwardly of the plane of said front and back wall edges at said one end of said structure, said front and back Wall-joined flaps being cut away at said one end of said structure to form an orifice in said flaps when they are in said further position, means for locking said front and said back wall-joined flaps together in said further position, and means on said end Wall-joined flap for forming a pour spout therefrom, said means including a pair of fold lines extending substantially longitudinally of said end wall-joined flap and converging toward the leading 10 edge of said flap, said end wall-joined flap being pivotable about said fold line to and from a position within said orifice and flexing along its pair of fold lines to fit within said orifice.

10. A carton blank, comprising a front wall-forming panel, an end wall-forming panel joined to said front wallforming panel along a first fold line, a back wall-forming panel joined to said end wall-forming panel along a second fold line opposed to said first fold line, front and back flaps hingeably joined to said front and back panels, respectively, at corresponding ends of said panels so that said front and back flaps each have a leading edge, side edges and that edge along which it is joined to its panel, an end flap hingeably joined to said end wall-forming panel along a line of juncture and extending between said front and back flaps, each of said front and back flaps having its side edge adjacent said end flap cut away to form a packet between said side edge and said end flap, and at least one fold line formed in said end flap and meeting and extending away from said line of juncture so that said end flap can be folded back on itself to form a pour spout.

11. A carton blank as claimed in claim 10, said end flap having two fold lines formed therein which meet said line of juncture and converge in a direction away from said line of juncture.

12. A carton blank as claimed in claim 11, said end fiap having a leading edge cut away to form a fingerreceiving pocket and said two fold lines terminating at said pocket.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wood Oct. 19, 1948 

1. A CARTON, COMPRISING FRONT, BACK AND END WALLS JOINED TOGETHER ALONG PARALLEL EDGES TO FORM A TUBULAR STRUCTURE, OPPOSED CLOSING FLAPS HINGEABLY JOINED TO EDGES OF SAID FRONT AND BACK WALLS AT ONE END OF SAID STRUCTURE, A CLOSING FLAP HINGEABLY JOINED TO AN EDGE OF SAID END WALL AT THE SAME END OF SAID STRUCTURE, SAID FRONT AND BACK WALL-JOINED CLOSING FLAPS BEING MOVABLE TO A POSITION IN WHICH THEY ARE SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE AND ONE OF SAID FLAPS OVERLIES THE OTHER, AND TO A FURTHER POSITION IN WHICH SAID FRONT AND BACK WALL-JOINED FLAPS CONTACT EACH OTHER AND ARE DISPOSED INWARDLY OF THE PLANE OF SAID FRONT AND BACK WALL EDGES AT SAID ONE END OF SAID STRUCTURE, MEANS FOR LOCKING SAID FRONT AND BACK 